Heavy field artillery.



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HEAVY mm) .ART1LLERY- APPLICATION FILED JULY 6, 1802.

' 3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

No MODEL.

E .H T Y M S D. TM

HEAVY HELD ARTILLERY..

PPLIOATION PILBE JULY 5, 1902.

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No MODEL W/TNSQSES:

NO- 737,972. PATENTED SEPT. 1, 1903.

T. D. SMYTEE. HEAVY FIELD ARTILLERY.

APPLIUATION HLEDJULY 5.1902. no mmm.. a SHEETS-SHEET a.

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v In Illllllllllllll UNITE THOMAS DIXON SMYTHE, or sANfrineo, Cintia;

Heavv Fiel.. Amanecer.

y srncrrrca'rron 'forming pas. of Lei-.ters ratei-'w No. 737,972, naar septmbfifi, les Appleman ma July 5.1902. serial no. 114.496. (roman.) v if* --f To a/ZZ whom itimayconoern:

Be it known thatl, THOMAS DIXON SMYTHE,

a subject of the King of Great Britain, anda resident of Santiago, Chile, have invented new and useful Improvements in Heavy Field Artillery, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

Theobject of the invention is to provide certain new and useul improvements in artillery whereby iieldguns of great length, large caliber, and heavy Weight can be readily transported from one place to another and brought quickly into action with great precision and steadiness and Without unduly enx 5 posing the gun and the gunners to the fire of.

the enemy or rendering necessary a heavy shield. y

Y 'The' invention consists of certain parts and details and combinations of the same, as will be fully described hereinafter and then pointed out in the claims.

A practical embodiment of my invention is represented in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

.Figure 1l isa sectional side elevation of the improvement on the line l 1 of Fig. 2, showing the gnu-barrel mounted on the gun-barrelview of the same.- Fig. S is a longitudinal sectional side elevation of the iiringscarriage suspended in its iring-earriage transportation vehicle. Fig. 9 is a y.plan view of the -.same, and` Fig. lO is a rear end-elevation` of the same. 1

The gun-.barrel A is adapted to be removably securedtothe upwardl -extending crank-arm B of` an axle B, on which are mounted to ro tate the usual wheels C of a two-Wheeled vetransportation vehicle and ready to be lofw! Patented eptember il ll 903,.

hicle, of which the gun-'barrel A' is to 'form the pole. Now in orderr to removably secure the gun-barrel A tothe" 'crank B ata .poiiiitj 5 5.' somewhat in the rearof the 'center Toi gravity' A l provide said gun-barrelA onl theftopviritli` sets of lugs A", on which are 'secured theff yokes D, by transversely#entending,boltsgllv and E', as is plainlyshov'nfin Figs.' '1and2, 6o said yokes D extending lengthwise 'and restsI Y ing on top of the crank-arin B'bf the "eranki axle B. On the front ci' the aide B 'are formed" lugs B2, connected by braces'li? with pins A2, formed on top of the gun'#barrelAy somewhat 55 in front of the lugs A, 'so` as to holdthe gunbarrel A against transverse,"shiftingmovesy ment on the axle B. j Near the muzzle end of lthe gnnbarrelA is formed a lug A3, connected by"a suitablehool; 7o G with the saddle cross-bar'H, adapted to rest at its ends on the saddleszI-l", carriedbyitlie 'f5 horses, elephants, or other animals employed in drawingthe gun and its suspended'car riage over the field to its"destination. The animals are hitched to the donbletree, I fulcruined on a pin A4, projecting from the gunbarrel Ain-front of the pinsAz, and the-said doubletree I is conncetediat its outerendsby rearwardly and in Wardly extending braces If 8o with a pin A5, formed on tli'e'gun-baiiel Ayas is plainly shown in Fig. lj.' j' On the muzzle -of the"- gun-barrel'A is clamped a cap J, connected by theylioldingf back straps K with the harness of the tea-m.' 85 On the pins A2 A5 are secured the arms L" of the seat L for the tean1sten`-, i f 'f New by the arrangement described the gun-barrel A when suspended on the transf' portatiomvehicle can be readily moved from one place to another, andjvlien` the-' gun arrives at its destination with 'the muzzle for ward it is lowered into the cradle O Oia-firingeariage P, set on the ground inth'edirection in which the' iiring'isito be donefbytlie gunfbarrel A. 1n oi'dei-tolower the gunbaii rel A.. into the cradle 0, it isfneeessary tobring -1 the several parts into the"` position `shown-in liig. 1, andthen the arlefBis locked to the Wheels C by the use' of pins-N; engaging regis#y tering apertures in the fiarives Bi, madfefintegral With the axle B, and ai' ures`intliehubs ofthe Wheels C. (See Figxe) "Yillien this has4A been done, the wheels C are turned to cause the axle B to turn, so that the crank-arm B' of the axleI swings forward and downward to lower the gun-barrel A and finally to deliver the same into the cradle O of the iiring-carriage P. (See Figli.) Whenthegun-barrclA is seated in position on the cradle O, thenthe operator removes the bolt E and swings the yokes or saddles D out of engagement with the crank-arm B to dismount the axle from said yokes and allow of removing the wheels C and axles B B from the-gun-barrel A, so as to'leave the latter unobstructed, it being understood that'in the meantime the team has been unhitched and removed to allow the gunners to make use of the gun.

The firing-carriage P is provided with the usual recoil-cylinders Q, the pistons of which are adapted to be secured tothe lugs A6 of the barrel, and with manipulating devices P for the cradle O to point the gun-barrel in the desired directione-that is, the direction in which the shot is to be Iired.

vIn order to transport the ring-carriage from one place to another, I employ a two-y wheeled vehicle R (illustrated in Figs. '8, 9,

and 10) and having the wheels R' journaled that whenv the windlasses are actuated saidv firing-carriage is lifted into theposition sho wn in Figs. 8, 9, and l0 and fixed by clamps to hold the bottom of the iiring-carriage a suitpermost position.

able distance above the ground, it being un.

derstood that the-crank in the axle R2 permits of lifting the tiring-carri age into said up- When the vehicle R has been run. to its destination, the operator simply reverses the windlasses S to lower the firing-carriage. P to the ground in position to receive the gun-barrel A, as above described.

I do not limit myself to' the-particular construction of vsuspension device for hanging the. gunebarrel A on the crank BVl of the axle B, as such suspension devices may be variedfor instance, as shownl in Figs. 5, 6, and 7- the suspension device consisting, essentially, of an eyebolt-T, engaged by a pin A7, held in in the lugs A6, made integral with the barrel A, and on said bolt T screws a nut T', rest-` ing on top of the crank-arm B' of the axle B.- The latter' is connected by braces F with the gun-barrel, which isv connected by braces l' with the doubletree, the same asabove described.

barrel is 'lowered onto its cradle, after which.

the .pin A7 is removed.

From the foregoing it will ybe understood that apart from ammunition-wagons two separate wheeled vehicles are employed-one for transporting the gun-barrel andthe other for carrying the iring-carriage to the place of action, the firing-carriage then being lowered onto the ground in the proper position to receive the gun-barrel in the manner described.

Thus the ordnance will be ready for action in a very short time, and if it is desired to remount the gun-barrel and the firing-carriage it is only necessary to first reattach the gun-barrel to the axle B and turn the latter by the Wheels C until the gun-barrel is out of the firing-carriage and the crank-arm is again in a vertical position and locked therein by the braces F, connecting'the axle with the barrel. The carriage R is brought over the firing-carriage, so that the ropes can be attached, and thenV the iring-'carriage is raised by windlasses S to litsformer position and clamped to the frame. It is further understood that during action the'wheeled vehicles are removed to places of safety. By having the iiringcarriage directly resting on the` pairs of lugs, and means connected with the lugs of opposite pairs and resting on the axle to hold the gun-barrel suspended therefrom, as set forth. f

2. The combination with a gunbarrel, ofa two-wheeled vehicle having a crank-axle, means for removably attaching the gun-barrel to the crank-arm of the axle somewhat to the rearof the center of gravity of the Y gunbarrel, and means for connecting the muzzle end of the gun-barrel with the team, as set forth.

3. Thecombination with a vehicle having- .a crank-axle, of means for suspending a gunbarrel from said axle, and a firing-carriage adapted to receive the gun-barrel on turning the crank-axle, asset forth.

it. A vehicle having a crankaxle for carrying'a gun-barrel, wheels mounted to turn on said crank-axle, and means for locking the wheels to the axle to rotate the latter on turning the wheels, as set forth.

5. A vehicle having a crankaxle, wheels mounted to turn thereon, means for locking the axle to the wheels, and a suspending device for carrying the gun-barrel on the crank of the axle, to swing the gun downward and forward on turning the axle, as set forth.

6. A vehicle having a crank-axle, wheels `mounted to turn thereon, means for locking the' axle to the wheels, a suspending device for carrying the gunbarrel on the crank 'of the axle, to swing the gun downward and forward on turning the axle, and a iiringcarriage for receiving the gun, as set forth.

7. A `vehicle having a crank axle, wheels mounted to turn thereon, means for locking the axle to the wheels, a suspending device for carrying the gun barrel on 'the crank of the axle, to swing the gun downward and forward on turning the axle, and a firing-can.

and hold the gun-barrel so that the recoiling' action of the giinbarrel will not be hinderedby the lugs thereof, as setforth.

9. The combination of a gun-barrel, without a trail, which, during transit, is removably suspended at a point slightly to the rear of its center of gravity, in the raised crank of an axle on wheels; as also at another point near the muzzle from a cross bar resting on the saddles of horses or other animals, the

gun being at the same time used as a .pole

V3,0 with its. muzzle ahead and attached to ther 7^front harness of the team, and the crank-axle and cross-bar as set forth.

10. The combination with a crank-axle, and wheels thereon, of means for suspending a gun-barrel from the axle, and means for locking the axle to the wheels to permit the axle to be turned to lower the gun-barrel onto a firing-carriage, and to raise the same from the carriage into its suspended position when it serves as a pole, as set forth.

l1. The combination with a crank-axle, and wheels thereon, of means for suspending a gun-barrel from the axle, means for locking the wheels to the axle, and means for detachably connecting .the axle4 to the gunbarrel in front of the axle, as set forth.

12. The combination witha pair of wheels, and its axle, of means for suspending one end of a gun-barrel from the axle, and means whereby the other end may be supported from the backs of animals, as set forth.

13. The combination with a pair of Wheels, and its axle, of means for suspending the breech end of a gun-barrel from the axle, means whereby the muzzle end of the barrel may be supported from the backs of animals, and a device adapted to fit the muzzle of the barrel and provided with holdback-straps for connection with the harness of the team, as set forth.

14.y The combination with apair of wheels, and a crank-axle upon which the wheels are mounted, of means for suspending oneend of a gun-barrel from the axle, a cross-bar adapted tofbe supported upon the backs of animals and to be connected with the muzzle end of the barrel, and a cap adapted to t on the muzzle of the gun and provided with holdback-straps, as set forth.

. 15. The combination: with a pair of wheels, and an axle, of a gun-barrel, .means for suspending the gun-barrel from the axle, adoubletree fulcrumed on the gun-barrel, and rearwardly and inwardlyextendingbracessecured to the doubletree and tothe gun-barrel as set forth.

16. The combination with a'pair of wheels, and a crank-axle, vof a gun-barrel, means 'for suspending the gun-barrel from the crankaxle,- and braces secured to the outer ends of the axle and extending forwardly and secured to the gun-barrel, as set forth.`

v1'7. The combination with a vehicle have ing a crankaxle, of a gun-barrel provided with pairs of lugs, and yokes connected with the said lugs and extending across the axle, as set forth.

1S. The combination with a vehicle havding a crank-axle, of a. gun-barrel provided with pairs of lugs, yokes connected with said lugs and extending over the axle t0 suspend the gun-barrel from the axle, anda firing-l carriage adapted to receive the 'gun-barrel' when the axle is turned, as set forth.

19. The combination with acrank-axle, and wheels thereon, of a gun-barrel provided with lugs, yokes pivotally connected with the said lugs and extending over the axle to suspend the gun-barrel from the axle, and braces extending forwardly from the outer portions of the axle and having their forward ends detachably secured to the gun-barrel, as set forth. l

l In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. v

. THOMAS DIXON SMYTHE,

Witnesses:

NORMAN HUroHiNsoN, C. E. M. MIcHELs.

IOO 

